Yerba Mate vs Green Tea

Yerba mate and green tea are both leafy, caffeinated drinks, but they come from different plants. Green tea is made from Camellia sinensis. Yerba mate is made from the dried and roasted leaves of Ilex paraguariensis, a holly tree that grows in northern Argentina, southern Brazil, Uruguay and Paraguay, according to a 2021 review.

What’s the difference between yerba mate and green tea?

	Yerba mate	Green tea
Plant	Ilex paraguariensis (a holly)	Camellia sinensis
Counts as true tea?	No	Yes
Traditional preparation	Leaves in a gourd or cup, water at 65 to 80°C (149 to 176°F), refilled many times	Steeped, often at 170°F to 180°F (Salada)

A 2024 review defines herbal teas, or tisanes, as infusions of plants other than Camellia sinensis. By that definition mate is an herbal infusion, even though it contains caffeine. We explain that split in is green tea an herbal tea.

Which has more caffeine, yerba mate or green tea?

Often mate, but the ranges overlap. A 2024 paper in Molecules, summing up earlier research, gives these ranges for a 150 mL cup (about 5 oz):

150 mL cup	Caffeine
Yerba mate	41.82 to 82.4 mg
Green tea	11.83 to 51.57 mg
Coffee	42.27 to 120.89 mg

The paper itself calls mate’s caffeine on par with green tea or coffee. The 2021 review puts a cup of mate (about 150 mL) at about 80 mg, similar to coffee. For green tea in a standard 8 oz cup, the Mayo Clinic lists about 29 mg, and 96 mg for coffee. The 8 oz and 150 mL cups aren’t the same size, so don’t compare the two tables line by line.

Mate varies a lot. The 2024 paper found that the product, brewing temperature and number of brews all changed the caffeine in the infusion. Later refills have less. But the 2021 review warns that the traditional habit of refilling the gourd can add up to more than 260 mg of caffeine in one serving.

For context, the Mayo Clinic says up to 400 mg of caffeine a day may be safe for most adults. NCCIH advises moderate caffeine during pregnancy. Our green tea caffeine hub has more comparisons, and the page on Twinings green tea shows one brand’s label numbers.

Is very hot yerba mate linked to cancer?

The concern is the temperature, not mate itself. In 2016, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) classified drinking very hot beverages as “probably carcinogenic to humans” (Group 2A), based on limited evidence for esophageal cancer. It defines “very hot” as above 65°C (149°F). IARC notes that mate is usually drunk very hot, at 70°C or above, though it can also be drunk warm or cold.

For mate itself, IARC found no conclusive evidence. Drinking mate that isn’t very hot was “not classifiable as to its carcinogenicity to humans” (Group 3). IARC’s director said the temperature, rather than the drinks themselves, appears to be responsible. IARC’s Q&A explains that Group 3 doesn’t mean proven safe. It means the data don’t allow a conclusion.

IARC says the evidence comes from human studies, mostly in high-risk regions, supported by animal experiments. It also says the share of esophageal cancers caused by very hot drinks is still unknown. The concern covers other very hot drinks too, including tea.

A 2018 risk assessment reached a similar view. It cited a pooled analysis that found little evidence of an association when mate was drunk warm. It also estimated that polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), contaminants found in mate, coffee and tea, carry a very low risk at the intakes it modeled, while very hot temperatures may pose an esophageal cancer risk.

Sources set the cautious line at different points. Harvard’s Nutrition Source mentions a possible increased risk of esophageal and stomach cancers from tea that is too hot, at 130 to 140°F. A simple habit covers both: let any hot drink cool before you sip.

Is yerba mate healthier than green tea?

We can’t say. NCCIH reports no safety concerns for green tea as a beverage in adults and says definite conclusions can’t yet be reached for most uses. The 2021 mate review describes possible effects from lab, animal and clinical work, but that isn’t enough for us to say mate treats or prevents anything.

The practical difference is the dose of caffeine and how hot you drink it. If you want less caffeine, try decaf green tea. If you choose mate, keep count of the refills. Browse the types of green tea hub for other styles.